


Prince Charming

by freetheelves2



Series: Fairy Tale Adaptations [1]
Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-23
Updated: 2007-06-23
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:19:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8341363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freetheelves2/pseuds/freetheelves2
Summary: Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who could think of no other wish than to have a child.





	

Once upon a time there was a man and a woman who could think of no other wish than to have a child. 

A deal was made, and unfortunately for the family, despite having been given a baby girl, they were forced to give her back when she was sixteen. 

"You don't have to do this," she had pleaded with her father, tears streaming down her face, but when he gave her the alternate options she had, she found them unreasonable, loving her father too much to present him with such a fate. 

That day, she found herself in a gray, bare cell at the Primatech Paper company. 

Weeks later, she still found herself still in the same cell, visited daily by a grim-looking man she knew her father worked for, always wearing the same black suit. Sometimes she didn't want to answer his call, ignored it – but she couldn't do it too often, or he would check on her anyway and probably run more tests than necessary…

_Claire, Claire… knock on the glass twice if you can hear me._

Her cell was different from the others – the walls and glass were thicker so she wouldn't launch herself out of them, knowing she could recover – not to mention that the ground was several stories down should she ever be able to crash through, and lined with several layers of rebar spikes on the ground, uncovered and dangerous, some of the bars sticking up out of the ground, as if ready to impale itself upon someone, overall looking very much like it could, at worst, kill someone – even her – or, at best, leave them just severely injured. 

She decided not to risk it, giving in and knocking twice. 

She heard the makeshift forklift installed just for him spring to life and move him up to where her cell was. Screaming, crying, glaring – all of it did no good as she had gravely come to realize on her third day here – and she watched as he punched in the password to step inside her little room. 

"Good girl," he said, a smile playing on his lips as he said it, his hand reaching out to run his fingers through her long blonde hair, smiling in his own twisted sense as he did so. "It's getting so long… we're not cutting that," he grinned as he kept running his hands through, making her flinch at his touch. 

"Just leave me alone," she said, recoiling from him and sitting down on her makeshift bed. "If you'll eat," he said, a hint of danger in his voice, but when she didn't reply anything, her face stoic, he left anyway. 

***

When she heard the familiar _Claire, Claire… knock on the glass twice if you can hear me._ , she didn't think twice before knocking, but then she realized that that had not been Thompson's voice. Running back to the window, she stared down, watching as no one other than Zach was trying to maneuver his way through the rebar on the ground, before throwing up something that looked like—no.

"Zach it's not safe!" she tried to call through the glass, banging her fists against it in, her efforts seeming all the more futile the more she tried. She could hear what was going on outside, but others couldn't hear her. She watched as he tried to pull himself up the rope attached to a grappling hook that was just barely hanging on to the concrete step that served as a doorstep to her door. He wasn't listening; five feet up off the ground and she watched as he fell, rubbing his shoulder where he'd fallen onto the rebar on the ground. "Zach, go back! I'm not worth it!" she tried to call, but it was useless, she realized when he tried again, this time with a better grip on the step, climbing up as he tried to support himself on the slick concrete wall that led up to her cell. 

For a second she thought he would almost make it – he was just one more foot off when she saw the grappling hook almost slip off entirely again, Zach's hand barely grabbing onto the ledge when she saw it slip. 

Claire held her breath in anticipation as she watched him pull himself up with a groan, miraculously enough still having maintained his hold on the grappling hook.

In desperation she tried to see if he was getting in – the lock was controlled by a number keypad and he had no way of knowing the combination – but she couldn't see him there, the glass not reaching far enough for her to see what he was doing. 

She heard the familiar sound of the numbers of the keypad being punched in, followed by a low sound that signified an error. 

Too many of those and they'd find themselves surrounded by guards. She had no idea what Thompson would do to her, but Zach—

He didn't know the combination but she _did_ , having heard the sounds the numbers made when being pressed, and, really, now she had to think quickly because otherwise… she heard Zach try a different combination of numbers again, when suddenly another idea hit her.

Pounding against the glass, she seemed to finally have gotten his attention. She pounded twice, paused, five times, paused, nine times, pause—almost like Morse code. 

He finally seemed to get the idea, and she repeated her 7-number-pattern against the glass. At first she heard an error once again, her heart racing, but the next time it worked and the door opened, a very shaken-looking Zach stepping inside of her cell.

"Zach!" she cried, almost instantly throwing her arms around him in desperation. Human contact. _Zach_.

"Claire, oh god, Claire, your dad—"

"I thought my dad wanted to forget?"

He shook his head. "Well, he didn't. He sent me here because, for some reason he doesn't think he can do it himself, and, oh god, Claire, I'll tell you, it was one hell of a task getting in here and finding this place and… a lot of security, you know?"

He chuckled then – still the same old Zach – and she smiled, a tear running down her cheek. "Hey, what are you crying for? I'm here now, right? Ninja gear and all," he joked, holding up the grappling hook he'd used to get up here.

"Thank you Zach," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him again, studying him curiously when she pulled back and he looked a little confused. "It's no big deal. I saved you now, right? So now we can leave," he said gesturing to the door that still stood open, and she looked at it for a moment before turning back to him. "I can't leave, Zach. I'll never get out. And even if I did, they would be able to track me—" she pulled her shirt to the side to expose her shoulder, showing him the marks from the gun they'd used to inject her with, "—and then we'd both be in trouble."

"I… I'll visit you?" he stammered, staring at the floor almost somewhat dejectedly.

"Yeah," she said, a distinct sadness evident in her voice, taking his hand and squeezing it softly. "I never wanted this," she said suddenly, feeling rather letdown by the world for the first time since they'd taken her. "I just didn't want my dad to have to… well, I think they would have killed him." She was quiet for a moment, before looking out of the glass. "Zach—the guards check on me in hourly intervals, and the last time was a bit ago; I think you should go before they catch you."

He nodded, somewhat awkwardly, even, and made his way to the door. 

"Please come back," Claire pleaded, taking him by the arm and leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "Please, Zach."

He nodded again, looking more confused than he had before. 

She watched him leave again, just two minutes before the guard showed up to check on her again, leaving her to wonder whether she would ever see him again. It had been almost too good to be true. 

***

She did see him again. And again, and again… every week, at least once from that point on. She got even more attached to him and his presence as time went on, but she wasn't sure how _he_ felt about her anymore.

It wasn't until they were far into his secret visits – occasionally feeding information back to her family – that something changed between them.

"Claire, can I ask you something?" he asked after a bit, sitting cross-legged across from her on the makeshift bed. When she nodded, he stared down at the white sheets, playing with one of the threads that had come loose, "I mean… we talk here almost every week and… it's like nothing is different, you know? Like you never left," he said sadly.

Claire's gaze shifted from the glass, back to Zach again almost somewhat nervously, and he looked up at her, the question clear in his eyes. "The guards have been more deliberate about checking at random intervals… I mean, one checked right before you came but… I think they notice that something is up, Zach."

He just shrugged smiling at her again. "So let them be suspicious. I don't care. I'm just glad you even let me see you this often."

"Zach, I—" she paused for a moment, almost daring to lean in to kiss him, but then pulling back again, sucking a sharp breath and shaking her head. "Why wouldn't I," she mumbled, staring at her bed. 

"I dunno," he said, shrugging again, "maybe you would decide you liked the people in this dump better than my company," he laughed lightly, but there was no humor intended in what he had said, and Claire frowned as she got up from the bed to look out the makeshift window. "I would prefer your company over almost anyone's, Zach," she said for a moment, turning back to face him again. He was still on the bed, looking quite a bit nervous. "Zach, _has_ anything changed? Between us, I mean? How you feel about me?"

"I still love you just as much as I did before, Claire," Zach mumbled, causing Claire to scrunch up her brow and lean in a bit as if she hadn't heard him correctly. "What?" When he didn't say anything, she added, "I didn't know you… did," she stammered, afraid to sit down on the bed all of a sudden. 

"Heh, no big deal, right?" Zach said, offering a small awkward smile, looking up for a second before letting his attention return to the loose thread on the bed he was playing with, clearly feeling that it was much less awkward than this situation right now.

"No big deal… Zach, I…" Claire shook her head, turning towards the glass again when she heard him get up. "I can go if you want me to," he offered lamely, and Claire's eyes went wide. "No! That's not—Zach, I think—" realizing that words were failing her right now, she took a step forward and kissed him, not afraid to do so for the first time since they'd started to hang out again, becoming the best of friends all too soon. 

Kissing her best friend.

And he was kissing her back – yes, albeit, a bit startled at her action at first, but all of a sudden something seemed to snap in his head much like it had in hers, and he had taken hold of her arms, actually kissing her back, and she didn't feel the least bit bad about it. 

It was all arms and limbs and fumbling and not knowing where things should go at all, but that was okay, because she _needed this_ , now more than ever before. 

"Are you sure—" Zach spluttered suddenly, pulling away from her lips for a moment to look at her – his need almost matching hers, if she wasn't in denial about this – insecure and scared and unsure, but…

"I want this, Zach," she breathed, pleading with him with her eyes, and he bit his lip, nodding nervously, and she felt the need to ask him, "if you don't want to—"

"No, no, I do," he said very quickly, staring down at the floor, "you're the most amazing girl I've ever met… I couldn't think of anything that I would rather do, really, and, frankly, I want to spend the rest of time exploring your and how amazing you are and your body…" his voice faltered slightly, looking very much embarrassed for having said that, but she shushed him. 

"Zach, I want you to," she repeated, "but with the security here… there isn't time for all that, you know that right? Once we get me out of here, yeah, but—"

"Well," he shuffled his feet a bit, "if you can't have the whole… if you can't have everything yet, do you want to wait?" he asked, looking a bit uncertainly at her. 

She closed her eyes and swallowed down a lump in her throat. "Yes… Zach, I need this. I need… you," she stammered, the desperation evident in her eyes, and she watched his face as he nodded suddenly, sitting on the bed. "How… so how do we do this?" he asked nervously, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, and Claire smiled slightly, sitting beside him, pulling his face towards hers to kiss him properly once again. "Like this," she whispered against his lips, a single tear rolling down her face that he immediately felt the need to wipe away with the pad of his thumb, reclaiming her lips in a kiss. 

They didn't talk again after that, a blur of limbs and foolish awkwardness here and there as she let him carefully lie her down on the bed that was the least appropriate setting for any of this to even happen, but neither of them cared – not when he awkwardly kissed her down her throat, her mumbling something under her breath about how there wasn't any time for this, despite the soft little sigh she let out at the sensation in spite of herself. 

He could see it in her eyes the whole time – the little admonitions she wanted to give all the while but didn't have the heart to vocalize, and it wasn't until he was poised at her entrance, bracing himself for what was about to happen just as much as she was, her pants gone, discarded somewhere off to the side of the bed, his down to his ankles, her top – plain and white and ugly and fit for living in a cell, not for making love one bit – pushed up past the point where it was decent, her hair a mess, his button-up shirt hanging open… that she kissed him again, with as much need and passion as she had in the beginning, all fumbling and small kisses up until then, her whispering something in his ear about how this probably wouldn't hurt her, making him balk at the idea of her still being a virgin for just a moment, before they both held their breath and he knew it was time, squeezing his eyes shut tightly before pushing into her. 

She whimpered a bit at the invasion, but he kissed her in hopes of making any pain go away, and went on, letting out a deep groan himself when he'd finally pushed himself into her fully. 

"Zach, please," she breathed, and he nodded quickly, nervously, trying to do nothing but please her, and began to move, letting out shallow breaths as he did so. "..amazing," he muttered, feeling his world crumble around him.

It didn't take him long to come – Claire had assured him that it would be no problem if she didn't – and she fiercely clung onto his body, arms and legs wrapped about him tightly as she felt him shudder above her.

He held on to her as if he never wanted to let her go again, and they stayed in that strange sort of embrace for about five minutes until Claire said, "I think I hear someone coming – hurry," and they both got up, Zach looking almost disappointed at not being able to stay with her longer after what had just happened, getting dressed and going through their usual routine when it was time for him to leave again. "Claire, I—" he started, but she shook her head. "You don't have to say it, Zach, I know. Me too." 

He nodded, then, and made his way out, stopped briefly when she leaned in to give him another kiss on the cheek before waving him off, hoping that he would return once more.

***

Three months later Claire was still stuck in a cell at Primatech Paper, but Zach was coming more and more frequently, and they found the time to even do all the things that Zach wanted to do so badly for her. 

It wasn't until a particularly dreary day – not because of the weather, Claire hadn't seen the light of day in months – where Zach wasn't coming, that something went horribly wrong. 

"I wish I didn't have to wear this thing," Claire said, staring down at the outfit the company had given to her, trying to ignore the other person in the room. Thompson's weekly visits had been bothering her more and more lately, especially when they'd increased, him saying that he had reason to be concerned for her health when she began to throw up her food with more and more frequency. She'd told him that it was nothing, probably just a stomach flu, or a reaction to the horrible food they were feeding her, but he didn't believe it. And now—

"Why do you think you should be treated better than anyone else in this facility?" he asked condescendingly, and she shook her head. "It's not that. I just think… well, it feels like it's getting a bit tight, and…"

"What?"

"It's… nothing," she tried to cover up, her heartbeats coming in faster now. 

"You've had yourself a little hero coming, is that it? Wants to play prince, does he now? Well, we'll teach him," Thompson said, dragging her with him by the hair, ignoring her cries of protest. 

***

When Zach returned the next day, he had the brief feeling that something was wrong, but decided to ignore it anyway, making his way up the wall as usual. He typed in the code, not thinking twice, the door opening for him—

"Well, well, if it isn't prince charming."

Zach's eyes went wide. "What—"

"You will never see her again, you know."

"No, that's impossible… no…" he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. This was not happening. It couldn't be. 

"You are going to leave and never come back," he said slowly, watching as Zach took a step back, before—

He slipped. 

Several stories below on a bed of rebar was Zach, one of the spikes having shot straight through his shoulder, leaving him groaning in pain, almost unable to move. 

"Good luck with that," Thompson said, smiling down at him before pressing a small button to bring the forklift to his level to bring him down safely. 

***

He had never expected to come across Claire outside the company, the pain from the rebar spike he'd had to pull from his shoulder nearly blinding him. 

"Zach, oh god, what have they done to you?" she cried when he stumbled out the way he'd let himself in every time before. 

"I fell, I—how did you—why are you all bloody—" he was gasping for breath, and Claire shook her head to still him. "They put me in another cell so they could trap you and I escaped and regenerated, of course, oh, god, Zach, we have to get you to a hospital and we'll run away together, and—"

"I love you, Claire," he managed to get out just barely before passing out. 

***

Once again Claire found herself sitting by the side of someone's hospital bed. It was rarely ever her, and even if, she was usually out within a couple of hours because she as just fine, of course – but this time it was Zach, and not her, and she was worried. 

"Please wake up, Zach," she muttered, and almost as if on command, she saw him open his eyes. 

"It's all going to be okay, Zach, I promise," she said, and this time, knew it to be true.


End file.
